Structural design and analysis of CFRP boom for concrete pump truck

This research presents structural design and analysis results of applying a composite boom structure on a Concrete Pump Truck (CPT). Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) is used to complete the structural design of the end boom to reduce the weight of the CPT. The weight of the newly designed end boom is reduced by 32% compared to the original steel component. Structural analysis is accomplished by applying static load combinations of self-weight of the boom and the weights of the pipes, the concrete and the drain hose. The results show that the tip deflection is reduced by 30% compared to the conventional end boom. Also, equivalent stress is considerably lower than the conventional design. Composite failure evaluation of the CFRP end boom is conducted by post-processing the stress results using Puck’s failure criteria. The evaluation results show that the design criteria are met on the static load of the pump truck. Specifically, it is expected that fiber failure and inter fiber failure of the boom do not occur under loading conditions according to the design evaluation results.